A few days ago,the school put up a notice on its homepage, notifying that the course egistration period had been changed. I welcomed this change with all my heart, until I took a closer look at the notice. The actual change was only for the chapel registration, and the general schedule remained the same. In Ewha, students have to sign up for classes a week before the official end of the semester. This is the final exam period for the majority of Ewhaians. They already have zillions of burdens, pressured by all the exams, papers, final projects, presentations, so on and so forth. But on top of these, they have another task to accomplish, which is nothing less important, course registration.

Now, is this registration as easy as spelling out ABCs? The answer is:NEVER. After more than two years in Ewha, I have never found this to be simple and easy, and neither have my friends. In order to have a perfect schedule for the following semester, Ewhaians carry their registration book-let along with their several scrap papers that has different time tables in case the class one planned to register is full. After that: the real registration war awaits, as Ewhaians put it.

As the nickname implies, this also is not an easy task. Since there are times when the computer server troubles many Ewhaians trying to register outside the campus, the early birds come to school at six in the morning to get a computer that actually works, since many computers in the campus are in delicate conditions. Even if they get to school that early (and you have to keep in mind that Ewhaians do have exams during this period), they are not guaranteed with the courses they planned to take.

Unlike Ewha, however, Yonsei University students register for courses during their vacation. This allows them to have more time to think about what courses to take, how to arrange them, and how those courses will affect their future. Although it is also tough for them to register for the courses they want, they are better prepared than the Ewhaians when on-line registration begins. This is not because Ewhaians are less effective time managers than Yonsei students are, and neither because Ewhaians are much busier than they are either.

This is simply because the course registration period for Yonsei University was planned out by the school"s concerns for students.
I would like to ask, what good is there in the rushing of registration period during exam week? What else, except that the administrative staffs can take a long, comfy vacation? If so, the school should not exist for the convenience of the staffs,
but for the students,who actually are involved in the system.

This fact brings us to one conclusion: for a healthier educational environment for all Ewhaians, the course registration period should change. It would be much more effective and less of a burden for us if Ewha also changes its course registration period to the vacation time like Yonsei and other universities. Yes, universities do teach you the importance of planning, but the university should also keep in mind that we are students. Our priority is studying.

Next semester, I really hope to see another notice on the bulletin board, saying: "The course registration period has changed from June 9 to August 1. Take your time planning time tables and freely concentrate on studying for your finals first."

Lee Joo-young
(English Lang.&Lit.,3)
저작권자 © Ewha Voice 무단전재 및 재배포 금지